Music News

03 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Cheers for Travis Kelce at Chiefs-Packers Game in Green Bay

Welcome to Green Bay. Taylor Swift headed to Wisconsin all bundled up in a red Stella McCartney overcoat to support Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday night (Dec. 3).

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Like the NFL games Swift’s attended thus far this season, her Sunday arrival was well-documented by various clips that were quick to circulate on social media. Dressed in head-to-toe black — a Reputation (Taylor’s Version) nod? — and a chic coat in a shade of red quite appropriate for a Chiefs fan, she walked in with Brittany Mahomes by her side and headed to a suite.

In one video clip posted online, Swift is seen pulling out her own phone to take a video of herself amid a pre-game snow flurry.

In another, she’s clapping. “TAYLOR IS IN BEHIND ME I REPEAT TAYLOR IS BEHIND ME!!!! IM FREAKING OUT,” the fan who captured this moment at Lambeau Field wrote.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

After the pop star supported Kelce at a handful of Chiefs games in recent months, the tight end was spotted showing love for Swift when her Eras Tour made its way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month. At her Nov. 11 concert, she cleverly called out her guy in a “Karma” lyric change: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me,” she sang during the Midnights section of her show toward Kelce, who was watching the stage from the VIP tent, next to Swift’s dad.

See clips of Swift, who is back atop the Billboard 200 with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) charting as the No. 1 album again, at Kelce’s latest game below.

03 Dec 2023

Fans Choose ATEEZ’s ‘THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

ATEEZ‘s THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Dec. 1) on Billboard, choosing the group’s EP as their favorite new music release of the past week.

THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL brought in more than 49% of the vote, inching toward 50%, and beat out new music from fellow pop stars like Jung Kook and Usher, Beyoncé and more.

As Billboard noted in the Friday Music Guide, “every inch of the album is filled with percussive breakdowns, rap verses springing into melodic hooks and cleanly delivered interplay between the various group members.”

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The eight-piece K-pop group saw success on the Billboard charts with their previous album, THE WORLD EP.2 : OUTLAW, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Trailing right behind THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL on this week’s poll is Jung Kook feat. Usher’s “Standing Next to You” remix, which came very close to the top with 47% of the vote.

See the final results of the poll below.

03 Dec 2023

Lil Wayne Replaces Nicki Minaj on Chicago Jingle Ball Lineup a Day Before the Show

Nicki Minaj told fans that she had an announcement to make on Sunday (Dec. 3). “Hope it doesn’t make you sad,” she said on X (formerly Twitter).

“I won’t be able to perform tmrw in #Chicago for Jingle Ball,” wrote Minaj the day before she was scheduled to headline the Dec. 4 stop of iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour. “I was so excited to see you guys. Pls accept my sincerest apologies. I’ll make it up to you on the Chicago stops of my tour early next year. Details to come.”

She then presented the backup plan: “HOWEVER!!!!! My beloved brother/boss stepped up for me so that I wouldn’t have to push my album back. His name is Lil Wayne AKA the GOAT. He will perform tmrw @ the Chicago show,” she revealed.

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The official concert listing on Ticketmaster confirms Wayne has replaced Minaj on the lineup at Allstate Arena. The “More Info” tab on the event’s page includes updated details about the show.

The Dec. 4 lineup is currently set to include Wayne, Jelly Roll, Big Time Rush, Doechii, (G)I-DLE and Kaliii.

“I am STILL performing @ the #Atlanta Jingle Ball on the 14th and now I’ll ALSO be performing at the #Miami Jingle Ball on the 16th. Album STILL dropping this FRIDAY,” Minaj told her Barbz on Sunday.

The rapper’s Pink Friday 2 album is scheduled for release on Dec. 8, her birthday, after its original release date of Nov. 17 was pushed back. Pink Friday 2 is the follow-up to Minaj’s 2018 album, Queen, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Minaj recently tweeted, “This album is just beyond anything I could have imagined.”

“If you on my $h!t list, you will never EVER recover. The. Fkng. End,” she teased.

See Minaj’s post about Jingle Ball below.

03 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Makes History With Five of the Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200

Taylor Swift towers over the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 9), as she holds a whopping five titles in the region. She is the first living act to have five albums concurrently in the top 10 since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.

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Swift stands tall in the top 10 with her most recent release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (returning to the top rising 2-1), and four former chart-toppers: Midnights (6-3), Folklore (9-5), Lover (8-6) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (17-10).

1989 (Taylor’s Version) was released in October; Midnights, in 2022; Folklore, in 2020; Lover in 2019, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in July 2023.

The only other act to hold at least five of the top 10 at the same time was Prince, on the May 14, 2016-dated list, following his death. That week in the top 10, he had The Very Best of Prince (falling 1-2), the Purple Rain soundtrack (with The Revolution, 2-3), The Hits/The B-Sides (6-4), Ultimate (61-6) and 1999 (31-7).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 9, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

03 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200

Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 9), as the set rises 2-1 for its third total week atop the tally. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Nov. 11-dated chart and spent its second week in the lead, before dipping to No. 2 for the next two weeks and bouncing back to the top on the new chart. The set earned 141,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 30 (up 3%), according to Luminate.

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Swift has a stranglehold on the new Billboard 200’s top 10, as she has five titles concurrently in the region. After 1989 (Taylor’s Version), four more former No. 1s follow: Midnights (rising 6-3), Folklore (9-5), Lover (8-6) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (17-10). Swift’s titles, like many on the entire chart, see sales gains gleaned partially from retail promotions associated with Black Friday and holiday campaigns.

With five titles in the top 10, Swift is the first living act to have five albums concurrently in the top 10 since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963. The only other act to hold at least five of the top 10 at the same time was Prince, on the May 14, 2016-dated list, following his death. That week in the top 10, he had The Very Best of Prince (falling 1-2), the Purple Rain soundtrack (with The Revolution; 2-3), The Hits/The B-Sides (6-4), Ultimate (61-6) and 1999 (31-7).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Michael Bublé’s chart-topping Christmas returns, vaulting 24-9. The set, first released in 2011, spent five weeks at No. 1 in December 2011 and early January 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every following holiday season.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 9, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

With three weeks at No. 1, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has the most weeks atop the chart of Swift’s four re-recorded projects. The Taylor’s Version releases of Fearless, Red and Speak Now ruled for two, one and two weeks, respectively. Further, Swift’s total weeks at No. 1 – across all 13 of her chart-topping releases – climbs to 66 weeks, just one week from the most for a soloist. Elvis Presley has the most weeks at No. 1 among soloists, with 67, while only The Beatles have more than Swift and Presley, with 132 weeks.

Drake’s chart-topping For All the Dogs falls to No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 with 85,000 equivalent album units earned (down 42%), after its rush back to No. 1 a week ago in the wake of its deluxe reissue with six bonus tracks. Swift’s Midnights rises 6-3 with 65,000 units (up 16%), Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time climbs 5-4 with 63,000 units (down 7%) and Swift’s Folklore flies 9-5 with 60,000 units (up 33%).

Swift’s Lover bumps 8-6 with 53,000 equivalent album units earned (up 4%), SZA’s chart-topping SOS ascends 10-7 with 48,000 units (up 8%), Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Guts bolts 14-8 with 47,000 units (up 20%), Bublé’s Christmas climbs 24-9 with 46,000 units (up 56%) and Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) flies 17-10 with nearly 46,000 units (up 23%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

03 Dec 2023

Kiss Announces ‘New Era’ With Digital Avatars Following Final Concert in New York

Kiss will live on as digital avatars following its final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

During the encore of their last show on Saturday (Dec. 2), the legendary rockers — co-founders founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as well as guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — made a surprise announcement that they will continue on as digitized versions of themselves going forward.

“Kiss Army, your love, your power, has made us immortal!” vocalist/guitarist Stanley said in a video revealing the digital characters as the virtual band launched into a performance of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.” “The new Kiss era stars now!”

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After the concert, part of the Kiss’ End of the Road farewell tour, the quartet shared a two-minute video on YouTube teasing their next chapter.

“The future is so exciting,” Simmons says amid behind-the-scenes snippets of the band wearing motion capture suits to develop their high-tech avatars. Stanley adds, “We can live on eternally.”

Kiss’ avatars were created by George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Sweden’s Pophouse Entertainment Group, according to the Associated Press. The companies recently collaborated on the ABBA Voyage show in London, a virtual concert performed by the Swedish pop group.

“Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this,” Pophouse CEO told the AP.

In a roundtable interview, Stanley noted that Kiss “deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are,” adding, “It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see Kiss immortalized.”

Simmons pointed out that the forthcoming digital band will be able accomplish things the original members couldn’t dream of doing.

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” the bassist said. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

Watch Kiss’ “New Era” promo video below.

03 Dec 2023

Ryan Reynolds Cozies Up to Travis Kelce in Hilarious Edited Photo of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively

Ryan Reynolds always knows how to get a laugh.

The Deadpool star took to social media on Sunday (Dec. 3) to share a hilarious edit of his and Travis Kelce‘s faces photoshopped onto an image of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively cozying up at the London premiere of Beyonce’s Renaissance concert film on Nov. 30.

“I feel like I should remember this,” Reynolds wrote alongside the photo on his Instagram Story, giving a shout-out to its original creator @karthiknjartist.

The actor’s wife, Gilmore Girls alum Lively, shared the unaltered photo on her own Instagram account following the London showing of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé earlier in the week. In the image, Lively and her pop superstar pal are seen flashing lovely smiles and donning sparkly outfits as they embrace on a couch.

Reynolds’ comical rendition of the photo is, of course, a reference to Swift’s ongoing romance with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. The 12-time Grammy winner has become a frequent guest at Kelce’s games since the pair started dating earlier this year, and she’s often spotted cheering him on in a box suite next to the Ohio native’s mom and Brittany Mahomes, who is married to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

In October, the “Cruel Summer” singer appeared at an away game against the Jets in New York City, arriving to MetLife Stadium with a fleet of celebrity friends including Lively, Reynolds, Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.

Swift and Lively are longtime friends whose paths have also crossed professionally. Swift used the names of Lively and Reynolds’ children (James, Inez and Betty) in her 2020 song “Betty” after featuring James on the introducing her 2017 track “Gorgeous.” Lively also directed the singer’s “I Bet You Think About Me” music video from 2021.

See Reynolds’ post on his Instagram Story here.

03 Dec 2023

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Is No. 1 at the Box Office With $21 Million Debut

Beyoncé ruled the box office this weekend.

Her concert picture, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, opened in first place with $21 million in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday (Dec. 3).

The post-Thanksgiving, early December box office is notoriously slow, but Renaissance defied the odds. Not accounting for inflation, it’s the first time a film has opened over $20 million on this weekend in 20 years (since The Last Samurai).

Beyoncé wrote, directed and produced Renaissance, which is focused on the tour for her Grammy-winning album. It debuted in 2,539 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 94 international territories, where it earned $6.4 million from 2,621 theaters.

“On behalf of AMC Theatres Distribution and the entire theatrical industry, we thank Beyoncé for bringing this incredible film directly to her fans,” said Elizabeth Frank, AMC Theatres executive vice president of worldwide programming, in a statement. “To see it resonate with fans and with film critics on a weekend that many in the industry typically neglect is a testament to her immense talent, not just as a performer, but as a producer and director.”

Though Renaissance did not come close to matching the $92.8 million debut of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in October, it’s still a very good start for a concert film. No one expected Renaissance to match The Eras Tour, which is wrapping up its theatrical run soon with over $250 million globally. Prior to Swift, the biggest concert film debuts (titles held by Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber for their 2008 and 2011 films) had not surpassed the unadjusted sum of $32 million.

The 39-city, 56-show Renaissance tour, which kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden in May and ended in Kansas City, Missouri in the fall, made over $500 million and attracted over 2.7 million concertgoers. Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour, with 151 dates, is expected to gross some $1.4 billion.

Both Beyoncé and Swift chose to partner with AMC Theatres to distribute their films, as opposed to a traditional studio. Both superstars have been supportive of one another, making splashy appearances at the other’s premieres. Both had previously released films on Netflix (Miss Americana and Homecoming). And both are reported to be receiving at least 50% of ticket sales.

Movie tickets to the show were more expensive than average, around $23.32 versus Swift’s $20.78, according to data firm EntTelligence.

Critics and audiences gave Renaissance glowing reviews — it’s sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and got a coveted A+ CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences who were polled. EntTelligence also estimates that the audience, around 900,000 strong, skewed a little older than Swift’s.

Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes fell to second place in its third weekend with an estimated $14.5 million. The prequel has now earned over $121 million domestically.

Godzilla Minus One is expected to take third place on the North American charts. The well-reviewed Japanses blockbuster distributed by Toho International cost only $15 million to produce and has already earned $23 million in Japan. Toho’s 33rd Godzilla film is set in the aftermath of World War II, stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and was directed by Takashi Yamazaki.

Trolls Band Together landed in fourth place in its third weekend with $7.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $74.8 million.

03 Dec 2023

Noah Kahan Performs ‘Dial Drunk’ & ‘Stick Season’ in ‘SNL’ Debut: Watch

Noah Kahan made his Saturday Night Live debut on Dec. 2, performing songs from his latest album, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever).

The Vermont-born singer-songwriter, who snagged a best new artist nominee at next year’s Grammys, opened with his Post Malone collaboration “Dial Drunk” and closed with his breakthrough song “Stick Season,” which recently got the cover treatment from Olivia Rodrigo.

The pair of tracks — which currently sit at No. 25 and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively — appear on the deluxe version of Kahan’s third album, Stick Season. The expanded version of the 2022 set dropped over the summer and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

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“It’s been an unbelievable year-and-a-half now … a whirlwind of attention and wonderful outpouring of love from fans,” Kahan told Billboard in September.

After appearing on the Emma Stone-hosted episode of SNL, Kahan called the experience “one of the greatest moments of my career.” “Had some fun with my buddies and sang for a few people last night,” he wrote on X. “@nbcsnl thank you for one of the greatest moments of my career.”

There will be two more SNL episodes this year: Dec. 9 with host Adam Driver and musical guest Olivia Rodrigo and Dec. 16 with host (and SNL alum) Kate McKinnon and musical guest Billie Eilish.

Watch Kahan’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=JZ9NavfzLvE&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent


https://youtube.com/watch?v=npc9qws28CY&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

02 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Reacts to Mariska Hargitay Naming Her New Cat ‘Karma’

Mariska Hargitay recently introduced her new cat Karma to the world, and no one is more thrilled than Taylor Swift.

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star shared a photo of her sweet pet on Instagram earlier this week. “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat. #MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat,” Hargitay wrote, revealing the inspiration behind her cat’s name is, of course, a lyric from a song by Swift.

On the chorus of the Midnights track “Karma,” Swift sings, “Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ’cause it loves me.”

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On Saturday (Dec. 2), two days after Karma the cat made their debut on social media, Swift publicly shared her reaction to the kitty’s arrival.

“Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle,” Swift wrote in the comments section of Hargitay’s post. “LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!”

Hargitay and Swift — who in 2014 named one of her own cats Olivia Benson after the actress’ starring role on SVU — have been connected for years.

After becoming friendly, Swift invited Hargitay to appear in 2015’s “Bad Blood” music video alongside Ellen Pompeo, whose Grey’s Anatomy character Meredith Grey inspired the name of Swift’s first cat in 2011. In June 2015, Hargitay walked the catwalk as one of Swift’s celebrity guests on the 1989 World Tour. More recently, Hargitay’s taken in more than one Eras Tour show and showed her support for the singer at the premiere of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film.

“She’s pure magic,” Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight in October. “There’s nothing she can’t do. It’s been so beautiful to reconnect to that innocence, you know? I think Taylor gives such a beautiful message to kids and unlocks these girls’ emotions.”

“I see how it affects my daughter, and she cries and just opens up like a flower,” Hargitay said of Swift’s impact. “And [I see] how meaningful it is, and I’m grateful to be part of it and watch that journey.”

“It’s been so beautiful [to see] how she gracefully walked through her journey and allowed herself to evolve and truly step into her power pose, her talent and all of her glory. And she’s got quite a bit of it … I think she is a magicmaker,” she added.

Swift released a remixed version of “Karma” featuring Ice Spice in May, giving the track a boost to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.